A Very John Waters June

I love that Criterion has really taken the concept of "June as Pride Month" to heart and gives all the gays a feast in new 4K releases every year -- take a look at June 2026's just-dropped announcements, which include two yes you read that right TWO John Waters movies entering the Collection! Holy hell! The two movies in question are his 1977 film Desperate Living (perfect cover art) and his beloved 1988 comedy Hairspray -- the latter has been on blu-ray before but the former I don't think has been released since DVD days? And these are both 4K upgrades -- can't wait to see the putrid toxic dump of Mortville that most of Desperate Living is set in be made so shiny clean and in our face lol. Maybe Criterion is working towards a complete John Waters box-set? Dare to dream. What I would give for Serial Mom on 4K! What delightful news, though. 

But the gay pride doesn't end there -- they're also dropping Lisa Cholodenko’s 1998 debut feature High Art starring Ally Sheedy as a lesbian photographer (I think that's what the character has on her business cards) who's over her old love (a tremendously funny Patricia Clarkson) and moving onto the hot new thing played by Radha Mitchell. Good movie! I only saw it for the first time a couple of years ago but Cholodenko rules in general -- can never go wrong with a Cholodenko. 

Next up a couple of tremendous movies from 2025 are being represented -- first there's Jafar Panahi's It Was Just an Accident, which I'm really sad didn't win either of the awards it was nominated for at the Oscars last night, as it was one of 2025's best and we really needed to get Iranian cinema figurehead Panahai on that stage to say some shit about current events. But seriously -- I re-watched this movie yesterday and it's incredible; so light and funny about such a nightmarish topic. And what an ending. The other 2025 is Lav Diaz's Magellan, an astonishing evisceration of colonialism that, in a just world, would've had Gael Garcia Bernal winning acting awards all season long as well. 

There really are a lot of titles being dropped this June -- I wonder if they open the flood-gates then because, besides the gays being courted, there's the month-long 50% Off sale at Barnes & Noble? Anyway this is the "foreign films I'm unfamiliar with" portion of the pile -- and speaking of anti-colonialism, there's Med Hondo's 1979 musical West Indies: The Fugitive Slaves of Liberty, which is set aboard a slave ship traveling through different time periods and locations. Anybody seen it? It sounds like one I'll have to see soon (it is already playing in the Criterion Channel so maybe I'll watch it this weekend.) And then there's Spanish director Carlos Saura’s "Flamenco Trilogy", a trio of films from the early 80s which is the latest in Criterion's newly reinvigorated Eclipse series of box-sets. And finally the last two June drops are 4K upgrades for Stanley Donen's ever-entertaining Charade with Cary Grant & Audrey Hepburn and the Jack Nicholson classic Five Easy Pieces. What are looking you forward to the most?

Pic of the Day

What a beautiful sight. 

 

Five Frames From ?

What movie is this?

Jack O’Connell you will always be famous

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— Jason Adams (@jamnpp.bsky.social) March 15, 2026 at 10:14 PM

Good Morning, World

Congratulations to Michael B. Jordan, the deserved Oscar winner for Fruitvale Station. Hey I'm being magnanimous here. Just like how I congratulated Jessie Buckley for her win, see below. So what did we all think of the big show last night? Generally I'm happy, given my favorite movie of 2025 deservedly took home the top prize. I always forget who won the other awards within a week anyway...

Jessie Buckley, best actress for ‘I’m Thinking of Ending Things’ yayyy

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— Jason Adams (@jamnpp.bsky.social) March 15, 2026 at 10:33 PM

This is Not an Oscars Post

I said all I needed to say on the Oscars yesterday at this link when I shared my ranking of the Best Picture nominees -- now I'm just saying goodbye for the Oscar Weekend, saying "See you on the other side." One of the above two fellows will probably be cradling a golden man in their strong arms come Sunday night -- y'all know who I'm rooting for but whatever will be will be. And so be it! That said my hypocrisy keeps on keeping on because have no doubt I'll be posting about the show on Bluesky as it happens, so if you do want to see me get disgruntled in real time make sure to follow me there. For some people watching me get annoyed is the real entertainment! I'll take it. Have a good weekend, stay safe and stay as sane as is possible in the year 2026. And in summation... I can't say I'd be furious if Wagner sneaked in and pulled it out (so to speak, ahem)...

The Cox Clock is Ticking!

I had no idea, absolutely none, until this very minute that the second season of Daredevil: Born Again is coming out in 11 days. ELEVEN DAYS??? WTF! Of course it would be Charlie Cox's beautiful body that grabbed my attention long enough to get me grasping... this fact. The shot above is taken from a just-dropped teaser for the show's return, which I will share below. Eleven days! Oh my god my body is not ready. In all seriousness Daredevil on Netflix and then it's new iteration on Disney+ is by leaps and bounds the best running Marvel show so I am genuinely excited, and not just because you know, abs. But abs don't hurt!

In related news I started watching Wonder Man last night and it's very funny! I am enjoying it. Any other fans? I've only watched three episodes so far but it's been a treat. We do love us some Yahya...

Everything You Ever Need To Know About Life...

 ... you can learn from:

Please Baby Please (2022)

Arthur: Heart in ribs like bird in cage. 

When it flutters, set it free.

I have now done quotes from this movie for Harry Melling's birthday three out of the past four years -- see 2023 right here and see 2024 right here (that second one includes lots of Harry on Karl Glusman sexiness and I do recommend) -- not sure what the hell I was doing on March 13th of last year that I missed this ocassion, but I'm making it up to you today, Harry! And then some since I also just realized that even with all the past year's Pillion-ness I hadn't given Harry his own tag here on the site yet -- shame the fuck on me. So that's now fixed. Harry Melling's on the side-bar now -- well earned. 

Also I suppose from now on for his birthdays we'll probably try quoting his other "Harry Melling gets gay subjugated by a hot biker" movie, the aforementioned masterpiece Pillion. My #4 movie of 2025! There's lots to celebrate in that movie too. But here today as an additional birthday treat I'll share Harry's recent photo-shoot for Behind The Blinds magazine (via) -- I hadn't shared it yet because it's wasn't nearly slutty enough to my liking; people need to realize that we are hot for Harry and respect and indulge our desires. Anyway it's what we got for now so hit the jump for it...

Five Frames From ?

What movie is this?

Good Morning, World

I finally started watching Ryan Murphy's Love Story series, the one about the romance between JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette, and... I'm actually a little bit embarrassed by how riveted I'm finding it? Like I keep getting twenty minutes into an episode realizing I have completely put down my phone and am entirely lost in the show which I gotta tell ya doesn't happen a lot these days! And I really didn't expect that with this. I think they made a lot of smart choices -- getting Paul Anthony Kelly here to play John-John as genuinely dim (but not in a mean way, just in a way that seems honest and correct to his circumstances) being very much one of them...

... and also the show's just pushing a lot of my buttons. And I don't just mean JFK Jr. NYC in the 1990s as this idealized version of itself -- it's nailing what I was growing up looking at and thinking, "I want to go to there." Magazines existed! There was a media landscape! There was hope and freedom -- you'd bump into famous people all the time. A good time felt achievable in a way it doesn't now. They've captured the essence of what convinced me to move here in the year 2000... and then 9/11 and cell phones immediately ruined everything. Anyway the show's making me deeply nostalgic in a way I'm really enjoying basking in, and not just because of the steady banger after banger soundtrack of 90s faves. (I also have an IRL connection to the characters -- I am literally zero degrees of separation from one of them.) All that plus eye candy -- I'm digging it. Thoughts? Or just hit the jump for more gifs...

Alright Here's an Oscar Post

This happens every year I think, even though I block it out -- it gets to be a few days before the Oscars and they're what my movie people are talking about so I "begrudgingly" do a post about them with some of my wishes or whatever. I rightly got called out for being an exhausting hypocrite when it comes to the Oscars the last time I whined about them -- I've tried to explain the attraction / repulsion thing they bring out of me before but really there's not much to it. It's a part of the movies, love it or hate it, so I just want them to do better if they must, so I can not feel attacked while watching the show in order to indulge my fetish for staring at pretty people wearing pretty clothes. Anyway it's probably clear by now who my favorites are -- I shared my own Top 20 List of 2025 back in January, after all -- but I rattled this off-hand on Bluesky earlier so I might as well share this, my ranking of the Best Picture nominees, here on the site itself:

2026 Best Pictures nominees, as ranked by me!

1. ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER

2. MARTY SUPREME

3. THE SECRET AGENT

4. BUGONIA

5. SENTIMENTAL VALUE

6. SINNERS

7. FRANKENSTEIN

8. HAMNET

9. TRAIN DREAMS

10. F1

No big surprises there! And it's a better batch of nominees than it is worse, so that's nice -- really any of those Top 6 winning Best Picture wouldn't rankle me. Because of the way awards conversations twist everything into shit I do have to keep reminding myself that for the most part I really like Sinners -- nowhere near how much I like its main competetion for this award (and I think we'll all be shocked if it's not either Sinners or OBAA that wins), and some of its champions have gotten real fucking annoying in the past few weeks. But it's a fun movie full of terrific performances and one for-the-record-books sequence. I get why people love it so much. So let's just enjoy the movies and all of those pretty people wearing pretty clothes for a few hours this weekend! The barn's burning down around us otherwise, might as well. Gimme your rankings in the comments!

Who Wore It Best?

online polls

Kind of a surprise to see two hot up-n-comers wearing the same exact outfits on two seperate magazine covers like this! (Shout out to our pal Dennis for catching it.) I posted Connor Storrie's full Vogue shoot just last week right here -- I will share the shoot of Him and Reminders of Him (now there's a double-feature) star Tyriq Withers down below (via). Before that though I just have to add that I just right this minute learned that Tyriq and I share a birthday! I mean he's [redacted] years younger than me but we're both July 15th babies. It's just nice to have somebody besides Linda Ronstadt to celebrate with, is all! (No offense to Linda Ronstadt.) Hit the jump for all the fresh Tyriq...

Everything You Ever Need To Know About Life...

... you can learn from:

New York, New York (1977)

Francine: What's the Theory of Relativity,

that light is curved?

Jimmy: I don't know.

Francine: They say that only five people in the 

whole world, you know, know really what it's about.

Even though she's decidedly not My Thing (save brilliant Cabaret of course) I won't be Bad Gay enough to not wish Liza Minnelli a happy 80th birthday today. I've only seen New York New York one time and save Robert De Niro being hot as hell in it the movie didn't make much of an impression on me -- that said I'll probably watch it again some time since Scorsese is Scorsese. If y'all had to recommend one of her movies that wasn't the two I just mentioned which would you? I don't think I've ever even seen Arthur; if I did I was just a kid and far too young for it. Anyway -- any of you reading Liza's just-released memoir? Any good gossip?

Five Frames From ?

What movie is this?

François Arnaud Seven Times

I am amused at how the Heated Rivalry foursome have been tagging one another with the sexy photoshoots for the past several weeks -- one after another after another after another, Connor Storrie then Robbie G.K. then Hudson Williams then our boy François here rocking a vast array of fashion panties for Cero magazine today...

Truly these all go well beylond "short shorts" -- when a butt-cheek is exposed a la the iconic movie poster for I Spit on Your Grave we've wandered into new territory. I think he is literally just wearing tighty-whities in the photo below? I do think the foursome are in a playful game of one-upmanship with these shoots though, and who's the real winner? We are, of course. Hit the jump for the rest... 

Good Morning, World

Foundation actor and openly gay MNPP crush Dino Fetscher is currently playing the role of "Mary's Teacher" in the U.K version of "Oh, Mary!" -- but then you know this because I posted about it a couple of weeks ago when a hot Dino photoshoot was dropped. And then when another hot photoshoot of Dino dropped yesterday I tried to keep it contained to a post on Bluesky, lest I post photos of Dino too often. But then this THIRD photo-shoot dropped (via) and y'all...

...  I am only so strong. Look at this man! Dreamboat epitome. He was dreamboat epitome even before the stache appeared but now? With the stache? There aren't enough fire or sweatface emojis in all the land. Anyway congratulations to him on being this hot, and I'll share both of the new photoshoots of him doing just that this morning after the jump...

Hokum If Ya Got 'Em

Since I fully refuse to watch horror movie trailers anymore doing these posts where I share horror movie trailers always feels kinda ridiculous -- no I haven't watched this, and honestly I suggest you don't either, but here it is anyway! That said I'm in a real staring-at-the-wall kinda head-space today so this is at least getting my fingers typing. The horror movie trailer in question today is the one for Hokum, director Damian McCarthy's extremely-anticipated-by-me follow-up to Oddity -- does that make it sound like it's a sequel, calling it a "follow-up"? I just mean it's his next movie. Anyway! Hokum stars Adam Scott and it's out on May 1st and I swear to you this is literally all I know about it and all I want to know. I've sort of gleaned from the press materials that it involves a spooky hotel. And I'm good! I was good for everything Damian McCarthy after I watched Oddity honestly (read my review here) because that movie fucking rocks. The movie McCarthy did before that, called Caveat, also rocks, but a little less than Oddity -- Oddity's honestly one of my favorite horrors of the decade. Point being McCarthy is a big up-n-comer as far as I'm concerned and I have very high hopes for Hokum. Fingers crossed. And with that here is that thing you definitely should not watch, then:

Five Frames From ?

What movie is this?

Good Morning, World

Look who popped his head outta his hidey-hole (aww that was Froy's nickname) the other day on Insta -- Richard Madden, the Games of Thrones and Eternals actor who seems to've decided on a generally low profile ever since those things, for reasons unknown. That makes him sound like a groundhog -- hey if Richard Madden making an appearance predicts six more weeks of something, what would that something be? Give me some answers in the comments...